Murrieta Valley's Reynolds shows plenty of heart in return

Murrieta Valley High School 11th grade boys varsity swimmer Evan Reynolds, who had open heart surgery in September, competes in the boys 200-yard freestyle relay against Temescal Canyon High School in a non-league meet.
— Howard Lipin

Murrieta Valley High School 11th grade boys varsity swimmer Evan Reynolds, who had open heart surgery in September, competes in the boys 200-yard freestyle relay against Temescal Canyon High School in a non-league meet.
— Howard Lipin

It was comforting enough for Reynolds just to compete as the Nighthawks boys team defeated Temescal Canyon 114-56 in a nonleague dual meet.

Reynolds was participating in his second varsity race since being diagnosed with a life-threatening heart condition in the spring of 2012.

It all started when Reynolds’ mother, Kelly, discovered she had a severe case of a heart condition called myocardial bridge. His mother sought medical help after she was experiencing shoulder and chest pain after her own workouts.

According to the Texas Heart Institute, most cases of myocardial bridge are harmless, but in Kelly’s case, it was extremely serious because her heart muscle clamped down on the artery, restricting the flow of oxygen-rich blood to the heart.

As a result, the heart pumps harder due to the lack of blood flow, accelerating one’s heart rate to dangerous levels.

Due to heredity concerns, Evan, his father, Michael, and two older sisters ---- Niki and Rachel ---- were all examined by physicians for the disorder ---- and all were found to have it.

The diagnosis effectively ended Evan’s sophomore season before spring break last year, costing him a chance to compete for honors after qualifying for CIF in both the breaststroke and backstroke.

Reynolds is described by Nighthawks coach Genevieve Barrow as a “high energy” teenager, which exacerbated his unique condition.

“I remember a couple times where I would be working really hard, I could feel it pounding in my chest,” Reynolds said. “I couldn’t breathe. I would get dizzy and sometimes it would get a little blurry. I thought I was tired from swim practice. It never processed in my mind that it could be something more.

“I would be walking around school with a heartbeat of 120,” Reynolds said. “(The doctors) said that was really bad. When I was swimming, it would get to 180, 190. I have been swimming for eight years, (and) through any of that I could have had a heart attack.”

After being diagnosed, Reynolds was instructed to scale back his athletic activity extensively. He waited approximately six months to undergo a seven-hour heart operation at Stanford University in September.

Following a successful surgery, Reynolds wasn’t permitted to attend school as usual. Reynolds had to complete his coursework at home.

“He couldn’t be around people, he has an infection,” Barrow said. “You don’t want to be around people who are going to get sick, so he had to take a semester off of just attending. It was a hard year. Both his sisters had surgeries. His mom had to have that.”

Once three months passed, Reynolds was cleared to return to the pool.

“The second I hit 12 weeks, I was right back in the water,” said Reynolds, who has a distinct 8-inch vertical scar on his chest, a striking reminder of his frightening ordeal. “I wanted to get in. (It was the) best and most tiring day of swimming ever. I was out of shape from not swimming at all for 8-9 months. It was a good day.”

Reynolds finished second (1:05.91) to teammate Daniel Ghomi in the 100-yard breaststroke Friday. He was also part of a 200-medley relay team that finished second and a 200-freestyle relay group that placed third.

Although Reynolds says he is only at 90 percent of his 2012 form, he has made remarkable strides in a short period of time.

“The effort that he has been putting into the practice has been kind of a lift to the team’s morale,” teammate Brandon Fewell said. “The rate that he’s been able to pick back up and continue with his best times and even beat his best times, it’s kind of just shown us that we can do it too.”